


While you dive, I hold my breath

by LouiseLouise



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: AU_gust_2020, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Merman Buck, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:40:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25649674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LouiseLouise/pseuds/LouiseLouise
Summary: Fantasy AU where Eddie’s a security guard at the Los Angeles Marine Center, and Buck is one of the scientists. And a merman, though no one knows about it, until Eddie pushes the wrong door at the right time.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 115
Collections: AUgust 2020





	While you dive, I hold my breath

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [AUgust writing Challenge](https://augustwritingchallenge.tumblr.com/post/621653119656493056/the-list-of-prompts-was-completed-one-prompt-per)  
> Day 1 is: fantasy AU
> 
> Huge thank you to [marciaelena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marciaelena) for the beta! All remaining mistakes are mine, English is not my first language.

It’s not his dream job.

It’s not even second best, but Eddie shows up for his first day at the Los Angeles Marine Center with a smile on his face like there’s nowhere else he’d rather be, because that’s what grown-ups do when they have bills to pay and a son to take care of. They show up and do the work.

So he shakes the hands of every new coworker he’s being introduced to, follows Jim through the hallways and the outdoor pens and listens to everything the man has to teach him about the place and the job. About the tanks, the fishes, the sea lions, and the baby seal they rescued that looks like a sea puppy and will need to stay at the center until she’s strong enough to be released into the ocean.

He takes notes on a small notepad to make sure he won’t forget anything. He needs to be good at this; he wants to be good at this, even if it’s not where he was picturing himself in ten years, ten years ago.

He also knows for sure that Christopher is going to ask him hundreds of questions about his new job and all his new friends from the ocean. The kid’s probably already planning to tell his classmates all about how his dad is saving the planet, and Eddie wouldn't want to disappoint him, so he listens carefully to what’s expected of him here.

Jim gets a retirement party at the end of Eddie’s first week and then it’s just him, at night, watching over the silent rooms and their scale-covered occupants.

Working nights is hard, but it pays more. Christopher can stay with his grandmother while Eddie works, and Eddie can join them for breakfast on his way home. He can be there for his family, enjoy every moment that nourishes his soul. It’s a win-win, really; that’s what he tells himself as darkness falls outside and the clock is moving forward in the night.

At first he sticks to the schedule he learned, going from room to room, ending with the seal nursery, then back at his desk. He looks at the fishes, stands behind the glass wall to watch the baby seal slide from the edge of the tank into the water and swim for a while before coming out and doing it all again. She sounds happy and it cheers Eddie up.

It’s all new and fascinating, until it’s not. Until it’s a little bit boring, so he decides to make his midnight tour of the facility in reverse, starting with the nursery.

The baby seal is not in her usual spot and Eddie wonders if he needs to check on her. He’s just the security guard, not a scientist. It’s not really his job. He wouldn’t even know what to do if something was wrong, except ringing the on-call resident.

But he’s bored, and curious, so he pushes the door and walks further into the nursery.

The tank is huge and has a little staircase around it, allowing people to look through the glass and watch the rescued animals in their artificial habitat. Eddie moves towards it and goes down, looking for the baby seal amongst the algae and the rocks. He hears noise, almost like pieces of a song, and sees movement in the water.

The baby seal is swimming, and she’s not alone.

Whatever else is in there, it has a tail.

But it’s definitely not another seal.

Its scales shimmer under the pale light of the room, and it moves gracefully around the tank, around the seal as if they’re playing, chasing each other. There’s a torso attached to that tail, a very human torso with a very human head, and the most beautiful smile Eddie’s ever seen. That is, until the creature notices Eddie looking at them.

Eddie’s rooted to the spot, eyes searching the thing’s–man’s?–face, but it quickly swims away and up to the surface, so Eddie follows, hurrying up the stairs.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” the man says, head coming out of the water, and now that Eddie can better see his features he recognizes one of the scientists he was introduced to on his first day. Eddie didn’t expect him to be rude. But then again, he never expected him to have a tail, either.

“Just doing my job,” Eddie replies, a little offended to be the one blamed for whatever is happening right now.

The man shakes his head, moving nearer to the edge of the tank, hands resting there like he’s hesitating to come out of the water. “You’re supposed to end with the nursery, not start here; I’m pretty sure Jim told you that.”

“Sure. And you’re supposed to…” Eddie shrugs and waves in the general direction of the man’s tail, not knowing how to end that sentence. 

He’s only starting to register that the man in front of him is a mermaid.

“Merman. I prefer merman,” the merman says, and Eddie realizes he was talking out loud. “Merperson would be fine, too. Now, mind turning around while I change?”

Eddie nods and turns, his mind racing from one question to another. Mermaids are real. Mermen. Merpersons; they’re real. And his coworker, whose name he forgot, is one of them. So it’s not a fairytale. But then what else could be real, out of all the myths told through the ages?

He hears splashing in the water, bones cracking and the sounds someone makes when they’re trying not to scream out loud, then footsteps on the tiled floor. And a very sloppy, wet thumping that’s coming near him, and what the hell is--

The baby seal flops on top of Eddie’s shoes and looks up at him, making noises that are part cute and part threatening, if that’s even possible.

“Leia, leave the gentleman alone, please.” The tone is firm and Leia huffs before moving away. “She’s suspicious of everyone, don’t take it personally,” he laughs, and it’s such a beautiful sound Eddie almost forgets the weirdness of the moment. 

“She seems okay with you, though?”

“Yeah, I gained her trust since she got here.” The man steps in front of him; he has legs now, and is wearing sweatpants and a shirt with the Center’s logo on it. “Trust takes time,” he adds, looking Eddie straight in the eye, and Eddie hears the message, loud and clear. 

He wants to say he’s sorry that he intruded like that on a moment that seemed private, but then again, he was just doing his job. And he couldn’t have known, let alone guessed, not in a million years, what he would stumble upon.

“I won’t tell anyone,” Eddie finally says.

The man grins. “No one would believe you anyway.”

“I could’ve taken pictures,” Eddie snorts, raising his eyebrows. The confidence of the merman is a little infuriating, truth be told. He’s the one with a secret, he shouldn’t be…

“Have you?”

Eddie shakes his head no. It didn’t even occur to him to take pictures; he’d been too mesmerized by the sight in front of him, the shimmer and the grace and the unexpected.

The man looks at him for a long moment, and Eddie doesn’t dare disturb the silence, doesn’t want to risk making things worse. 

“So, I’m guessing you have questions?”

Eddie nods.

“Okay then, first things first,” the man says, holding out his hand. “Hi, I’m Buck.”

Eddie grabs it and shakes it. “Eddie.”

“Nice to meet you, Eddie. Come on, let me tell you everything while you go back to your scheduled round.” Buck grins. “I wouldn’t want to keep you from doing your job.”

Eddie smiles back.

It’s not his dream job.

But sometimes, as it turns out, reality is better than our wildest dreams.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! You can find it on tumblr [there](https://theladyandthewolves.tumblr.com/post/625265096313192448/while-you-dive-i-hold-my-breath).  
> Like always, kudos, emojis and comments help me go on writing ♥


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